Oral History is both a theory and method – the practice of recording life experiences and stories. It offers a means of understanding the past from multiple perspectives, cultivating "new ways of seeing," and generating alternative epistemologies. Guided by questions such as who “makes” history, why have certain individuals been studied while others have been ignored, and how this shapes the production of knowledge as well as our understanding of the past, the course draws inspiration from Michel-Rolph Trouillot to explore how oral histories can “unsilence the past” and shed new light on events that have long been ignored or unknown. Students will examine how experiences that are similar to or different from their own are represented, interpreted, and ethically engaged, and the challenges that arise when making sense of another person’s life story(ies) and experience(s). The course investigates oral history as a form of truth-telling, its long-standing relationship to social justice initiatives, and its impact on the communities from which oral histories emerge. Students will engage with foundational readings, analyze existing oral histories, and design and produce a small-scale, well-researched, semester-long oral history project—in a format of the student’s choosing (such as a video or audio podcast, a research paper, a website, or a creative/artistic work including visual art, performance, or digital storytelling)—that situates a narrator’s lived experiences within its broader historical, social, and cultural context.